Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has held a phone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande, the presidential press service has reported.
“The sides discussed the situation in Donbas. They noted that despite a reduction in the number of incidents of shelling since the announcement of the ceasefire on December 9 troops and heavy weapons had not been withdrawn from the line of contact, the border had not been closed and hostages had not been released, in accordance with the obligations of the parties stipulated in the Minsk agreements,” reads the statement.
Poroshenko emphasized the need to secure the release of all hostages whose number currently exceeds 600 people.
Poroshenko, Merkel and Hollande agreed that the trilateral contact group should meet as soon as possible to take measures on the further implementation of all points of the Minsk agreements, which are a way to de-escalating the conflict and resolving humanitarian issues in Donbas.
“The Ukrainian president said that in the next few days the Ukrainian authorities would send humanitarian aid with food and medicines to the affected regions. The mechanism of the trilateral contact group, as well as cooperation with international organizations, is needed for delivery and proper distribution,” the press service reported.
The sides also discussed the possibility of increasing macro-financial assistance to Ukraine, both through the mechanism of international financial institutions and at the bilateral level.
The Ukrainian and French presidents, as well as the German chancellor, called for the expediency of continuing the dialogue in the Normandy format.
